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Terry Bezer
Terry David "Beez" Bezer is a former rock journalist and radio host and television presenter from London, England. He is currently the main host of That's Not Metal, which he founded in 2015 after leaving the Metal Hammer podcast. Early life Terry David Bezer was born in July 1983 and grew up to be a complete bellend in Plumstead, South London. He is the son of a school teacher and a lorry driver, and is an only child. Bezer's earliest memory in his life was an occasion where his parents were driving him to London to meet He-Man, whilst also visiting Trafalgar Square to feed some pigeons on the way. Bezer was passionate about football and wrestling in his early years, and was also an avid fan of horror movies, before he gained an interest in music. Early in his life, Bezer enjoyed listening to artists such as Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, however Oasis were the first band that Bezer became seriously interested in, with their first three albums in particular being amongst his all-time favourites. His first ever concert was Michael Jackson on his "Dangerous" tour, and Oasis were his second. Bezer became interested in the music channel MTV at an early age, and around 1996 when the tournament Euro 96 took place, he got his own TV set which he used to watch the channel as well as sports. Bezer recounts watching the video for "Until It Sleeps" by Metallica, which he initially was not interested in musically, however he was intrigued by the premise of the video. He eventually became fond of the song, before then hearing "Hero of the Day", also by Metallica, to which he was much more fond of, leading to him purchasing Metallica's album "Load", the album that would change his desired career path from football commentary to music journalism. He soon became interested in other bands such as Sepultura and Marilyn Manson after buying their albums "Roots" and "Antichrist Superstar", and the rest is history in his own words. Bezer was a popular character at school, who was aesthetically different from his peers, however had a bubbly and outgoing personality to match. In spite of this, he felt that he struggled to find a sense of belonging amongst his peers and his family, which rock music and alternative culture helped to rectify in the future. He got on well with his family, but felt "very different" to them throughout his childhood and into his adulthood. His friends mostly listened to indie music, which drew scorn from Bezer, who would often attend shows on his own due to musical differences amongst his inner circle. He went on to form a short lived school-boy band with several of his friends, who he remarked "never seemed to be in it for life". One of the first metal publications Bezer started reading was Metal Hammer, which upon reading he described as the moment which "elevated rock music to a greater importance in his life than just 'hitting the play button and letting the song pan out until the end'". He says that growing up with horror movies and horror culture helped transition him into becoming a fan of alternative culture and reading publications. Bezer studied media at college after graduating from secondary school in the late nineties, and around this time period he earned his music journalism work experience placement at Metal Hammer. Career Bezer's first foray into employment was a week's work experience at a shop known as "Robert Dya's Hardware Store", which he did not enjoy. The second week of his work experience program was left to the student, to which Bezer arranged a placement with Metal Hammer magazine, meeting with editor Robyn Dorian at "the best show I have or ever will go to" - Metallica at The Ministry of Sound. After Metal Hammer moved premises to Bath, he would work in a similar placement with Kerrang magazine. When reflecting on his eventual career, Bezer noted the buzz of "having his voice he heard" when reviewing things he is passionate about, viewing the publications he worked for as platforms to freely express himself. However, he notes that "the further to the top you get, the more and more politics become involved" in the profession, which caused some of his enthusiasm for traditional music journalism to wane. Writing Bezer got his first break in the music industry by writing for the webzine Drowned in Sound. “I was their metal guy, I would cover everything from Tool to Weezer to Alien Ant Farm” Bezer would later recount. He won a competition with Emma Bunton on Top of the Pops 2 for VIP tickets to Reading Festival, which he used as an opportunity to interview bands for the webzine. He was eager to avoid having to attend university, and as such set out to achieve a full-time position in the field of musical journalism within a deadline set by his mother. A chance meeting at Reading Festival with the editor of Metal Hammer eventually led to Beez earning a freelance position with the magazine in 2002, after completing another week of work experience covering for Dan Laney, then deputy editor of Metal Hammer. Bezer stated: “It was a different world back then. I was young, wide-eyed and rock still had a really prominent place in the wider musical landscape.” A week after starting work with Metal Hammer at the age of 18, Bezer was sent on a four-day business trip to Los Angeles to partake in a 20 minute interview with the band "Fenix TX". He described this experience as "getting to see the last slithers of the music industry having more money than it knew what to do with". This was the first job Bezer was ever paid to do. In the early stages of his career, Bezer notes that he never "felt as good as everyone else" working in the sector at the time, who often had more experience and were much more well establish in the industry than himself. He feels that his South London upbringing was disadvantageous as co-workers of a public school upbringing would "look at him as though he was thick" due to their differences, and they would mock his London accent. Bezer notes that whilst others with these upbringings may be more proficient in the English language, creatively is where Bezer believes his strong point lies that sets him apart from others. After his work with Metal Hammer, Bezer joined Rock Sound, a position which he enjoyed and felt he made a big impact on. Television After a brief stint at Rock Sound magazine, Bezer was asked to become a presenter for Scuzz TV. On being presented with this opportunity, he said “I wanted to bring back that MTV Headbangers Ball vibe, really well thought out programming, because we care about music. We don't just want to see videos on a loop, we care deeper than that because we're rock fans and we want to know the ins and outs of everything. So that became The Lowdown and Scuzz Meets ...” Bezer noted his inexperience in this field of media, however he embraced it and enjoyed this position, working as channel manager. Due to time and budgetary constraints, a more effective solution in the form of Scuzz Meets was eventually launched, Bezer being particularly proud of these segments he worked on, whereby bands would partake in world exclusive interviews. Bezer's time at Scuzz ended due to disagreements with a staff member higher in the working hierarchy who disliked him. He recalls that whilst working for Scuzz he was made to "feel like a freak" and was "ostracised" due to his appearance and having his integrity questioned by others. Ultimately, he wanted to return to working with people he could call his friends, so he joined the cast of TeamRock. Radio and Podcasts Bezer's first foray into launching a podcast was in his Metal Hammer working days, where himself and "Gill" who also worked for the magazine devised the idea. He notes that Gill's proficiency in comedy and acting served as a balance to Bezer's passionate interest in music, forming a unique partnership, which he enjoyed despite the fact that the two did not get on as people outside of a professional setting. A loyal, dedicated audience quickly formed and subscribed to this podcast. Bezer notes that he felt more skilful in this "broadcaster-type" area than in writing for a publication, and much preferred the "under-the-radar" style of the podcast wherein Bezer could cover and discuss more content than before, in a more productive environment where different subjects could be discussed more freely. After launching the Metal Hammer podcast, Bezer stated that himself and Gill (the co-host) became annoyed and dissatisfied with the creative direction of the publication, feeling that some of the staff did not get their say, going against Bezer's personal values. He described the podcast as eventually becoming a venting of this frustration amongst other frustrations in life, which other people could relate to. Bezer would eventually leave the podcast due to behind the scenes issues meaning he questioned the honesty of others and felt he could no longer be honest on the podcast, being replaced by future TNM host Stephen Hill, and would take up a new position at Rock Sound. An ill-fated podcast which only lasted several episodes was launched with this publication, however there was a lack of chemistry amongst the hosts which meant the podcast promptly ended. Some episodes of the Hammer podcast are still available to view and stream/download, however many have since been deleted from YouTube and other sites. Bezer notes that several of these episodes were of low quality and that his current project, That's Not Metal, is vastly superior to this work. Bezer has also worked for TeamRock radio, a time in which he does not look back on fondly due to others misusing his trust and lying to him. Bezer notes that several promises were made to him to make leaving his former position seem worthwhile, which ultimately were not honoured. He cites this as a low period of his career, where he struggled with his mental health, lost interest in going to shows and lost contact with his friends. He fell into a depression and even contemplated suicide due to how others had treated him. Personal life Bezer is a supporter of Arsenal F.C. He is married to Charley Bezer, formerly head of PR at LiveNation. He now lives with Charley in Los Angeles, California. Bezer has a large array of tattoos, including the Misfits skull on the side of his neck. Bezer does not have any particular political affiliation, stating he is "not interested" and is not very good at politics, but just looks out for what he thinks is right. He is not religious. Category:People